Paranoia

Chapter twenty four

Maddi’s point of view

            I sat silently and uncomfortably in my mother’s car. There was frost around the windows and I was shivering. The sun was just starting to set, and I was on my way to Violet’s house. She called me an hour earlier hysterically crying. She was breaking and she needed a friend. She needed anyone.

“Mom, stop.” I said as she passed Violet’s giant house.

“Just get out here and walk.” She sighed. “I’m not driving back.”

“Okay, mom. Thanks…” I went in to kiss her cheek goodbye, but she just sat there frozen. “I love you.”

“Love you.” Her words came out hard as I left her car.

            She immediately sped down the street and I walked to Violet’s house. My hair was wet, and by the time I arrived at her front door, my hair was hard. I frowned and rang the doorbell. Her house was a huge brick building that towered over every other house on the block.

“Hello, Maddi.” Violet’s mother smiled softly at me. “I’m going out for the night. Violet’s in the living room. You two have fun…and stay out of trouble.” She winked at me and sent shivers down my spine. The way she said those last few words…something about them ran through my system. I suddenly felt sick.

            Her mom left and I closed her front door as I entered. Her house was so nice on the inside—even bigger than the outside. She had bright white furniture and tall walls that seemed to go on forever.

Her living room had a shaggy carpet with a glass table resting on top. There was a huge beige couch that was facing away from the huge widows—her mom refused to have a white couch if Violet kept having her friends stay in that room; she was always so proud of her house. Resting on her huge couch was a crumpled up broken girl. She looked up at me with watering eyes.

“You came.” Her voice cracked. “I came down here to wait for you…but I didn’t think you would come…”

“Of course I came…why wouldn’t I?” I sat down next to her and she fell into me.

“I-I don’t know…I just…” She stopped talking as sobs took over her body.

“Violet…what’s wrong?” Although it was pretty obvious. Three deaths…basically all of our faults.

“We killed them! We killed them!” She shrieked at me. “How could we have been so stupid…so heartless!? What kind of people are we? We are murders. We don’t deserve to be alive. Ashlinn, Rylie, and Victoria all deserve to be alive. Not us! Not fucking us!” Her eyes were glowing with anger.

            Soon, I was crying with Violet. I hadn’t ever seen her like that before.

“No…no it’s not anyone’s fault.” I said through my own tears. “Only that person killing them…and we don’t know who that is yet…” An image of Violet’s mom flashed into my mind, but I pushed it away.

“Rylie and Dade.” Violet spoke sourly.

“And Bellie.”

“She’s such a whore!”

“I know. Seriously, she needs to keep her naked body out of other’s relationships.”

            Violet chucked and excused herself as she left the room. I sat on her couch alone taking in the room. There were a few pictures on the windowsill. There were pictures of me, Violet, Bellie, Rylie…even Dade, but none of Ashlinn. There was one of her, but she was off to the side, barely even there. Her mom took all of those. I remember her taking them.